True Hearts
by nzginge
Summary: True Hearts follows the story of James, a seventeen year old boy from Traverse Town, who has a strange dream one night only to find himself cornered by heartless the next day. He is told by Yen Sid that he is one of the seven True Hearts, seven people who are able to wield Keyblades more effectively than other Keyblade masters. He embarks on a journey to unite the seven with Sora.
1. Dreams

True Hearts

Chapter One

Dreams

It was dark. It was cold. And it was raining. James was walking home through the streets of Traverse Town. Traverse Town had once been a safe, friendly city. However, those days had long since passed. Now, it was rare to see anyone walking by themselves for fear of another attack. James had lost count of had many there had been now, but he thought the number must be at least fifty. He walked briskly, so he could get home to a nice hot shower and some warm food. He lived with his mother in a simple, three bedroom flat. His father and his oldest brother, Maximillian, had enlisted in King Mickey's army to travel to distant worlds and restore the balance. James had wanted to enlist as well, but the fact that he was still only seventeen, underage by one year, and the thought of leaving his mother alone in this place had made him change his mind.

He rounded a corner into the well-lit Town Square of District One. He breathed a sigh of relief, at least now he knew he was relatively safe. While the outer parts of Traverse Town were becoming increasingly derelict, District One still had the full protection of the mayoral guard. He jogged across the square and ran up the steps. He could see the lights were on in his house and he continued to run to the door. He fumbled with his keys and unlocked the door. Dripping wet, he hung his coat by the door and took off his shoes. The warmth and light of home instantly lifted his spirits.

He took a deep breath in, inhaling the smell of pumpkin soup. He quickly ran up the stairs to his bedroom. It was only just big enough for him. It had a single bed in the far corner and a desk up against the wall next to it, with posters of Gummi ships and his favourite Coliseum warriors lining the walls. There was a window above his bed, that looked out over the Town Square. He threw his backpack on his bed and went to the bathroom. He turned on the shower and looked at himself in the mirror. His normally ginger hair had gone brown because of the rain and stuck to his forehead, slightly swept off to the side. He removed his wet clothes and put them in the laundry basket, he was well muscled and tall. He liked to keep himself in shape in times like these.

_Always helps to be able to defend yourself_, he thought as he turned away from the mirror and walked into the shower. Warmth washed through him as the water ran down his body. He washed the stress of the day off his body and turned the water off. He dried himself and dressed quickly. He then ran down the stairs into the kitchen where his mother was sitting doing the puzzles in the daily newspaper.

"Another late night then?" She asked nonchalantly, as she looked up from her puzzle, smiling. She looked tired, but then everyone did these days.

"One of the deliveries from Twilight Town was late, the trains are being attacked so often now, they need to find another way of getting the supplies" replied James as he poured himself some soup into a bowl.

James had taken on an afterschool job to help his mother. He worked in a factory in District Two as a spare hand, helping with deliveries in and out of the factory and repairing the machinery on occasion.

As he gulped down his soup he glanced up at the clock, realizing he had no idea what time it was. The clock said eleven thirty.

"I hope they pay you overtime for the extra hours you do" said his mother, returning to her puzzles.

"Sometimes. Depends how the month's gone" said James between mouthfuls.

He finished his soup and washed the dishes. He walked away from the bench and slumped down on the couch in front of the fire place.

"When are Dad and Maximillian due back from service?" he said, rubbing his eyes as he suddenly realized how tired he was.

"They're back for a week at Christmas"

"_What?_" said James, "but that's not for three months!"

"I know. There's not exactly much we can do about it though is there. We might want them back here, but they are doing a good thing" said his mother with a sympathetic smile.

"I guess you're right" said James, standing up. "Well, I think I'm going to bed now. You should too, like you said it's late."

"Okay mister" replied his mother chuckling, "I'll see you in the morning".

James walked up the stairs slowly, looking at all the family portraits from over the years that were hanging on the wall. He smiled briefly and continued to his bedroom. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Everything was pitch dark. He was falling. Suddenly he landed on something. As he landed the darkness started to recede from where his feet were, uncovering a platform, very similar to a stained glass window. There was a picture on the platform, of a young girl, with long blonde hair in a purple dress. She held a red rose and here eyes were closed. _She must be sleeping_, thought James.

When he looked up from the girls face, three grey pedestals had appeared around the edge of the circular platform. On the platform directly in front of him was a green staff, with a blue sphere at the top of it. The blue sphere had two smaller spheres at the top, positioned where ten and two would be on a clock. On the platform to his left was a sword with a blue and yellow hilt, which had the same markings on it. The blade was of the purest white. To his right, there was a black shield with the same three circles on it in red.

James jumped in fright as a calm female voice spoke.

"A certain power sleeps within you. If you give it form, it will give you strength."

Not entirely sure what to do he walked up to the sword and picked it up off the pedestal. The voice spoke again.

"The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this what you choose?"

James observed the sword for a moment then said firmly, "Yes." The sword disappeared into a ball of light.

"Your path is set, now what will you give up in exchange?"

James looked around to the other two pedestals. He then walked over to the staff and picked it up.

"The power of mystic. Inner Strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. You give up this power?"

James contemplated the staff for a moment and again said firmly, "Yes."

The staff vanished into a ball of light, just like the sword had done.

"You've chosen the path of the warrior. You've given up the power of mystic. Is this the form you choose?"

James thought for a moment and for a third time replied with a firm, "Yes."

Suddenly everything changed from the pitch darkness to a blinding white, James covered his eyes with his hands. When he opened them again, he was in his house, standing by the staircase. His mother was standing by the kitchen bench where she did her puzzles. His father was standing by the fireplace and his brother was standing by the window opposite the fireplace. He walked over to his mother. He eyes were blank and emotionless and she began to speak in a monotonous version of his real mother's voice.

"What is most important to you?" she asked

"Friendship" James replied without thinking. His mother nodded and he walked away from her, moving towards his father. Again, his father's eyes were blank and he spoke in a flat, detached voice.

"What are you afraid of?"

"Losing my loved ones" said James, again without hesitation. His father nodded and he moved to his brother. As with his parents, his brothers eyes were blank and he spoke in a strange, flat version of his real voice.

"What do you want out of life?"

"To be the best person I can be" replied James. His brother nodded. Everything went dark.


	2. The Journey Begins

Chapter Two

The Journey Begins

James awoke with a start. _What a strange dream_ he thought to himself. He pulled himself out of bed and dressed for school. He wore a light blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up with black jeans and black canvas shoes. He grabbed his backpack and ran down stairs. The clock on the wall read seven forty five. He needed to be at school for eight o'clock. He'd overslept again. Cursing the late deliveries he got out of bed and dressed himself for school. He was wearing a blue button up shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, black jeans and black canvas shoes. He grabbed his backpack and ran down the stairs. Thankfully it had stopped raining overnight, but the sky was still overcast and the clouds looked ominous.

"Breakfast?" his mother asked warmly.

"No thanks, I'll get something at school, I'm already running late" replied James as he picked up his coat off the hanger by the door.

"Okay, well make sure you do" his mother said, "What time will you be home?"

"Hopefully about nine o'clock" replied James

"Okay, well I'll see you then. I love you"

"I love you too, mum"

James walked out the door and slung his backpack over his shoulder. He walked towards the town square and looked at the clock in the centre. It read seven fifty. He would have to take the back way. He hesitated before he started heading that way. The back way came dangerously close to District Two, where a lot of the attacks had been happening. He looked at the clock again, seven fifty two. He picked up his pace and headed behind the candlelit restaurant to go through the back alleys.

He had been walking briskly for about 5 minutes when he turned down an alley to go behind a now abandoned hotel. He picked up his pace, it was dark and he was getting increasingly nervous, he could have sworn a couple of times he saw shadows moving.

He was nearly out of the alleyway when he was knocked over by a sudden hit in the stomach. He scraped his hands on the concrete as he fell over. He looked around and saw a small, black creature standing in front of him. It was small, hardly up to James' knees, and had two, very bright yellow eyes. Its antennae moved around as it surveyed him.

Suddenly it lunged at James. He managed to get his arm up just in time to fend off the strange creature, though its claws scratched at his arms, leaving it stinging as he flung it off. He stood up and saw two more of the strange creatures had appeared in front of him. He took a step back, but felt a sudden weight in his hand. He looked down to see the sword from his dream materializing in his hand. His eyes widened in surprise, and he looked back at the monsters just in time to see the original one jump at him again. He slashed at it instinctively with the sword. It disappeared into a black smoke as the sword passed through it.

The second creature lunged at him immediately; he just managed to dodge to the side in time. Seeing an opening, he brought the sword down on the creature and it disappeared into black smoke.

The third lunged at his side, and its claws ripped through James' shirt, leaving three long cuts in his side. He put his hand to his side for a moment, and looked at it. He saw blood covering his fingers. He grabbed his sword with both hands and ran at the creature and slashed through it. It disappeared like the previous two.

He fell down to one knee, holding the wound on his side. He felt a hand grab his shoulder and immediately stood up, spinning round and holding the sword at the ready. It was one of the mayoral guard.

"At ease!" said the guard, raising is hands, "drink this, it'll help." The guard handed James a small phial filled with green liquid. James took the stopper out of the phial and drank it in one mouthful. He immediately felt full refreshed, and he noticed that his wounds had healed.

"Thanks" said James.

"No problem" replied the guard; "now if you'll please come with me, I think the mayor would like a few words with you."

James was seated in a waiting room in the town hall. He had been sitting there for about ten minutes. The guard had escorted him straight to the town hall and asked him to wait while he talked to the mayor. He looked up as the double doors into the mayor's office opened. The guard walked out and said, "the mayor would like to see you now." James stood up and walked past the guard into the office. It was a large office, lined with bookshelves on both sides. There was a desk at the far end of the room, with a large window behind it that looked over the town square. Standing behind the desk, looking out the window stood the mayor of Traverse Town. He was a tall man with slick grey hair and a hardened face. He had once been in King Mickey's army, but had retired some years earlier.

"Please, sit down" he said, he had a high-class accent. "What's your name son?"

"James, sir" replied James as he sat in a leather armchair.

"Well James, the guard has just told me about your little confrontation in the alleyway near District Two." He sat down in a large leather desk chair.

"I'm not quite sure what happened myself" said James.

"He said that you were wielding a sword," continued the mayor, ignoring James' comment. "Did it have a white blade with a blue and yellow hilt?"

"Yes, it did." As James said these words, a small figure materialized in the corner of the room. The being was about four feet tall; he wore a long black leather overcoat with the hood down. He had the largest ears that James had ever seen.

"Ah, King Mickey, I see you got my message" said the mayor.

"I came as soon as I received it" replied the small figure, his voice was squeaky, but he spoke with a confidence and sureness.

"James, this is King Mickey of Disney Castle" said the mayor. James' eyes widened and he got down onto one knee with his head bowed, as he had seen his father do when he enrolled for the army.

"Please, rise James" said the King, "there will be time for formalities later." The King walked towards James and sat in the armchair next to his.

"Now, you're probably wondering what on earth is going on aren't you?" said Mickey kindly.

"You could say that" replied James.

"We'll start with the creatures that attacked you" said the King, "they are dark beings, known as the heartless. Had they defeated you, they would have stolen your heart and turned you into one of them. However, you were fortunate enough to be aided by a sword weren't you?"

"Yeah, it just kind of appeared in my hand"

"This sword is known as the sword of terrible destruction. Would I be correct in saying that you had a dream containing it, a staff of magic and a shield in the recent past."

"Yeah, how did you know?" asked James, surprised that the king had known this.

"It is as I thought. James, I ask you to accompany me to Disney Castle. I have something very important to talk to you about there. I will say this though, if you do accompany me to Disney Castle, it is unlikely that you will return home to Traverse Town in the near future, for I have a very important task for you."

James considered the King's words for a moment, thinking mainly of his mother being alone. He looked back at the King. His eyes were pleading.

"I would not ask this of you James if it were not of the utmost importance," said the King, seemingly reading James' mind.

"My mother-" James began.

"She will be taken care of," said the mayor, "she will be placed under the protection of the mayoral guard and she will be supplied for."

"Thank you mayor" said King Mickey, returning his gaze to James. James thought for a moment, before finally saying, "What does this task entail?"

"I'm afraid I am unable to tell you, as I do not know the full details. Yen Sid, who is currently residing at Disney Castle, will have the full details for you, should you choose to come. As I said before, I would not ask this of you, were it not a matter of the highest importance. It concerns the future of our worlds."

James looked at Mickey again, and then finally he agreed.

"I am pleased to hear it James" said the King, "My Gummi ship is awaiting us, if you would follow me please."

With that, King Mickey got out of his chair and left the mayor's office. James stood and followed him.

The ride in the Gummi ship had been James' first, was every bit as exciting as he had hoped it would be. The feeling of flying through space at warp speed was every bit as thrilling as it had sounded when his father had described it to him for the first time many years ago. They had landed at Disney Castle mere minutes after leaving Traverse Town. He had followed King Mickey through a hangar of hundreds of Gummi ships. He looked up in awe at the sheer size of some of the Royal Air Force troop movers.

He know stood next to King Mickey in the King's study in the castle.

"Yen Sid should be here very soon, assuming he received my message."

As he said this the doors to the study opened and in walked two people. One was Yen Sid, James could tell this because of his appearance. He was wall, with a long white beard that went down to his waist. He wore a blue robe and a pointed blue hat that had yellow stars and moons on it.

Next to him walked boy, James guessed he was a similar age to himself. He was a bit shorter than James but had brown spiky hair that made up the difference in height. He wore a black jacket and pants with red pockets on the pants. He also had a necklace with a crown on it.

"Ah Sora!" said Mickey, "What a pleasant surprise!"

"Hiya Mickey!" the boy names Sora replied, "Yen Sid asked me to come, he said that you and him had some important matters to discuss with me."

"Indeed we do" said Mickey, "James, this is Sora, he has been fighting the heartless for a long time." James shook Sora's hand. Sora had a big grin on his face and greeted James like an old friend.

"Now that the introductions are taken care of" said Yen Sid, his voice was deep and emanated authority, "we have some matters of high importance to discuss."

"Master Yen Sid, James was seen wielding the sword of terrible destruction in Traverse Town" said King Mickey.

"I had suspected as much," said Yen Sid, looking James up and down, "That is fortunate, it means there is one less to track down."

"One less what to track down?" asked Sora.

"I was just getting to that. You never did learn patience did you?" chuckled Yen Sid, "As I was about to say, it has become apparent to me that there is a new power controlling the heartless. This explains the sudden rise in the number of heartless in the various worlds. Based on the number and strength of the heartless that are present, I also believe that it will take more than one Keyblade wielder to defeat this power. In my research, I came across a passage that spoke of seven Keyblade wielders who would unite. Seven 'True Hearts'. I feel that it is time for these seven to be united to overcome the power of darkness that is plaguing the worlds."

"So how are we supposed to find these seven people?" asked Sora.

"I continued my research into this matter, and it was apparent to me that a weapon of heart will present itself to a True Heart when that person is in great need of it. Like you Sora, when Destiny Islands was under attack from the heartless. And like you James, when you were attacked this morning."  
"You think I'm a True Heart?" asked James incredulously

"Yes I do. You had a dream concerning a staff of magic, the sword of terrible destruction and a shield, did you not?"

"Yes, I did"

"Well, I believe that this dream is a precursor to the Keyblade presenting itself for you. This is a test of sorts, it will effectively decide which form your Keyblade takes."

"But I'm just an ordinary kid! There's nothing special about me!" exclaimed James, walking around now in disbelief.

"That's what I thought as well. I thought I'd never leave Destiny Islands" said Sora.

With this James stopped walking, and looked around. It was really happening, he had been chosen by a mysterious weapon to help defend the worlds.

"As I have stated, Sora and yourself are two of the seven. I am giving you the task of finding the other five, and defeating this power that is controlling the heartless." Said Yen Sid, seeing that James had come to terms with his new position.

James took a deep breath, thinking about the size of the job that Yen Sid had just assigned them.

"So we're going to have to search every world, looking for five people?" asked James

"Not quite, I have devised a way of tracking those who are of True Heart. I will be able to tell you which worlds to look in, from there it is up to you." Replied Yen Sid.

"But how do we find them? Are we just going to ask every person we meet if they have a Keyblade in their back pocket?" said James, with a feeling of hopelessness crawling through him.

"The True Hearts will be wielding either a Keyblade or a weapon of heart. You will be able to find them I trust, but it will be no easy task."

This did little to quell James' exasperation at the seeming impossibility of the task ahead.

"As you two are both True Hearts as well, your destinies have been entwined with the other five. You will find them, they will present themselves to you."

"Will Donald and Goofy be coming?" asked Sora, sounding hopeful.

"Unfortunately Donald and Goofy are fighting the heartless in other worlds and won't be able to go with you. For now it is just you and James, but there will be more soon." Said Mickey positively.

There a moment's silence as everyone contemplated what lay ahead. Yen Sid broke the silence.

"As James' Keyblade is yet to present itself to him, we will need to begin his training as soon as possible, so that it will see him fit to wield it and the mission can begin. We will start at dawn tomorrow."

James was a little surprised at being thrust into a training schedule so quickly, but expected he would have to get used to sudden changes of plan.

"Sora, I trust you remember where your old chambers were?" asked Mickey, "if you could please take James with you, he will be in the room across the hall."

With that the double doors opened by themselves, and Sora and James took themselves to be dismissed. James followed Sora out into the hall. The walked in silence for a moment, before Sora spoke.

"We'll be fine you know" he said encouragingly, "There's gonna be seven of us! How can any power even come close to that!"

James did not reply, but smiled at Sora as he walked with his hands behind his head.


End file.
